The police chief in charge during the Hillsborough disaster will find out today whether an inquest jury blames him for the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.

The issue of whether Mr Duckenfield, then South Yorkshire police chief superintendent, failed in his duty of care is one of 14 questions to be answered after one of the longest cases in British legal history.

Today's verdicts are the culmination of a legal fight spanning more than a quarter of a century for the families of victims.

Yesterday jurors told coroner Sir John Goldring that they were ready to deliver their verdicts after he agreed to accept a majority direction on one remaining question, which asks: ''Are you satisfied, so that you are sure, that those who died in the disaster were unlawfully killed?''

Before they were sent out on April 6 to start their deliberations, jurors were told they could only answer ''yes'' if they were sure that match commander Mr Duckenfield owed a duty of care to those who died in the disaster, and that he was in breach of that duty of care.

Mr Duckenfield gave the order at 2.52pm to open exit Gate C in Leppings Lane, allowing around 2,000 fans to flood into the already packed central pens behind the goal.

Previously Sir John told the jurors: “You would have to be sure that David Duckenfield, the match commander, was responsible for the manslaughter by gross negligence of these 96 people. When answering this question, we are looking at Mr Duckenfield’s conduct and his responsibility.”

Mr Duckenfield, 71 admitted he had not told the whole truth about mistakes he made on the day, through a succession of legal inquiries since 1989.

The retired officer directly addressed the Hillsborough families, adding: “I regret that omission and I shall regret it to my dying day.”

Sir John explained that the jury would consider the crucial order by Duckenfield at 2.52pm to open an exit gate and allow a large number of supporters into the Leppings Lane end, while not taking steps to close off a tunnel leading to the central pens where the lethal crush then happened.

He told the jury that they would be entitled to take into account the statement Duckenfield made to Football Association officials as the disaster was unfolding, which the police chief admitted was “a lie by omission”.

The jury's decisions will be given from 11am. The panel will answer general questionnaire of 14 questions as well as record the time and cause of death for each of the Liverpool fans who died in the disaster on April 15, 1989.

The fresh inquests began on March 31 2014, in a specially-built courtroom in Warrington. The 1991 verdicts from the original inquests were quashed following the 2012 Hillsborough Independent Panel report.